


Same Difference

by NeoCopperTechnology



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cat/Human Hybrids, Found Family, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Slow Burn, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:13:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28840701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoCopperTechnology/pseuds/NeoCopperTechnology
Summary: Johnny has always taken in the strays, but Lee Taeyong is different for many reasons.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 23
Kudos: 180





	1. Chapter 1

Recently, even though it had been cold out lately, Jaehyun had found a fond sense of peace in their morning runs, even if they went on them for other motives.

These walks happened nearly every day. The two of them would jog the perimeter of the campus together, staying close to each other on or off leash. Their college town was small, the bigger city off to the west, and the university pushed up against the eastern forest that covered the mountains. The trails that dipped into the lush groves were great for a morning jog, and Jaehyun loved the scenery. The crisp November mornings were misty and serene. The sounds of cars and people were muffled and the trees were calming. The smells of the forest were meditative.

He had his ear buds in but his music was off, his phone was in the zipped pocket of his joggers, and his beanie pulled over his ears just enough to cover the tips but he could still hear all that was going on in the forest around him.

Next to him ran his best friend and unmatched jogging mate. The large, pitch black dog had thick, wooly fur that was equipped for this weather, and his heavy paws gripped the dirt under their feet as they ran together. Jaehyun had taken the leash off of his harness when they got to the edge of campus, knowing that, even if he broke from Jaehyun’s side, his friend would return without fail.

The leash was coiled up in the pocket of his zip up jacket now, ready to be pulled out when the two of them returned to the streets and started making their way back home.

The dog— gargantuan in comparison to an average shepherd —sprinted a little ahead of Jaehyun then stopped, making Jaehyun stop too. Jaehyun saw the dog’s tail, pointed straight towards the sky, as were his ears. His hind legs were stretched back, and his front paws were poised underneath his chest; the stance of full alert. Jaehyun took out an earbud to get a better listen and look forward in the direction the dog was looking as well.

“What is it?” Jaehyun asked quietly, and the dog took off into the thicket at top speed. In no time at all, Jaehyun was alone on the beaten dirt trail and the sounds of the dog’s footfalls faded into the thick of the trees and bushes. Jaehyun started walking the path again, his ears clear and his pace slow, waiting for his friend to come back like he always did. After a minute Jaehyun took out his phone and checked his clock, making sure he still had time to go back and shower before his first class.

A few minutes later, Jaehyun could hear the sound of paws hitting the dirt hard and Jaehyun looked over his shoulder to see his friend, the big black canine, running down the path to return to his side again.

“Find anything?” Jaehyun asked conversationally. The dog snorted in response, letting out a huff, “We have to hurry back. Might need to cut through campus today,” Jaehyun said and when he picked up his jogging pace, the dog did too, falling into a perfect jaunt next to him like they had many times before.

When they got to the edge of campus, instead of circling the whole perimeter like they usually would, Jaehyun slowed to another stop and pulled out the leash. His friend halted too, and waited patiently for Jaehyun to clip the leash to the ring on the back of his black harness. It blended into his fur perfectly, the only way you could tell he was wearing a harness at all was the breaks in his lush coat, and the leash connected to Jaehyun’s wrist.

The sun was starting to push through the overcast sky now, and the early morning college students were wandering through campus making their way to their seven o’clock classes. Jaehyun kept up a soft jog, still intent on getting a slight workout, and his companion trotting next to him at pace.

People watched the two of them as they jogged through the school. Jaehyun was tall and good-looking, but the dog was a sight to behold as well. Long legs, thick, sleek fur, and tall ears... he was a massive animal indeed. They made quite a striking pair as they continued their run through campus.

The house was just on the other side of the campus, past the school’s daycare center and park. It was the last in a row of tiny townhouses, tucked at the end of the street, Jaehyun took the keys out of his zippered pants pocket and unlocked the front door. As soon as the door was open, Jaehyun leaned down and unclipped the harness, letting it fall open and off of the dog.

Jaehyun picked it up and hung it on the coat rack just inside the door. The dog walked into his house and turned into the living room, out of sight from the foyer where Jaehyun was still taking off his shoes.

“So, did you find anything today?” Jaehyun asked after he set his shoes aside.

“No,” Johnny answered, from the sounds of it, from the kitchen, “I can’t tell if it’s like us or if it’s just an animal, but whatever it is, it’s coming closer and closer to campus,” he answered and Jaehyun came around the corner and saw Johnny standing naked at the open refrigerator door. 

“I don’t like that. It’s getting bolder. Or more curious,” Johnny murmured into the fridge.

“What if it’s…?” Jaehyun trailed off. Johnny knew what he was going to ask, there was no need to finish the sentence completely. He shut the refrigerator door and reached for the cupboards to get a glass.

“We don’t know yet. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it accordingly. One way or another,” Johnny said as he pushed the empty glass against the water dispenser on the fridge door to fill up his water cup.

“I trust you,” Jaehyun said and turned to walk to the spare bedroom, “I’m gonna shower here. I need to talk to my professor before class and I don’t have time to run home first,” he said and Johnny hummed from the bottom of his water glass as he tipped it up to finish it. He set it down on the counter and sighed.

“I have to get ready to go to class soon too,” Johnny murmured to himself as the door to the second bedroom shut. He quickly went through his mental list for his classes today and remembered he had a study session for a test later that day with some classmates. Johnny sighed as he pushed thoughts of the forest and the trees and the smell of the earth aside as he walked over to his bedroom to get ready for the day too.

Before he went to his connected bathroom to go shower as well, he stopped at his bedside table where his cell phone was charging and he picked it up, the front screen immediately lighting up and showing his notifications.

The multitudes of texts didn’t make his stomach turn anymore. In fact, if he had _no_ texts, that would have been even more worrisome. There were check-in texts from his friends, letting him know that they had either just woken up, or were going to class. Irene even offered to bring him a coffee before their nine o’clock math class and Johnny smiled at that, texting back a quick “Yes please, thank you,” to her.

An overly polite worded text from Mark made Johnny grin too. It was like the poor freshmen was talking to his grandfather.

< _Good morning. I just woke up. I have my first class at nine-thirty. Literature. I’m about to go have breakfast at my mom’s. See you this afternoon, hope you have a good day. -Mark >_

With his name taglined at the end and everything even though Johnny had his number saved for a couple weeks now. He’d learn better with time. Johnny sent back a text of his own quickly.

< _Good morning! Are you ready for your first walk today? I’m going to need to make another loop of the campus this afternoon, around lunchtime. I’ll get Lucas or Seulgi to come with and show you how it’s done. >_

Johnny had been meaning to take Mark out on his route for a while now. He set his phone back down and stretched his arm over his head, rolling his stiff right shoulder back, as he walked to his ensuite to take a shower.

Johnny met up with Irene before class. The slightly older student, who was a TA for this course, handed him the warm paper cup, and pulled down her scarf to offer him a ‘good morning’. Johnny took the coffee with a soft ‘thank you’ and she nodded back, before taking a sip of her own drink.

The two of them usually met up before this class earlier than the rest of the students, they would lean against the old brick building and chat before their literature class. Johnny could smell the tea she was drinking. Hibiscus, a summer flavor even though it was the end of autumn.

“No caffeine today?” he asked conversationally, and she shook her head.

“No, I slept well. Seulgi’s science test was yesterday, so she wasn’t up late cramming, and I was able to fall asleep at a semi-decent time,” Irene answered. Her voice was calm and soothing in his ear.

“Good. That one needs better time management,” Johnny remarked.

“The dance classes she’s taking are sucking up a lot of her time. Not to mention the extra practice she does _outside_ of class,” Irene mentioned, “I’m trying to convince her to take a less challenging class load next semester. She needs more time for herself and her dancing,” she said and then took another sip of her tea. Johnny took a sip of the coffee before he changed the subject.

“Mark is taking his first walk with me today,” Johnny said, “He needs to learn the route, and Jaehyun and I didn’t finish a full rotation this morning.”

Irene was silent for a few seconds, and the two of them watched a pair of students walk past them quickly, chittering to each other about an essay or something.

“Do you think he can handle a full walk?” Irene spoke softly after a few moments, “He’s only been with us for two weeks.”

“Three weeks. And he’ll be fine. His shifting has become much more fluid, and the campus isn’t that big.”

“Our territory goes beyond the campus now. It takes longer to walk it than to run it,” Irene said, “What time are you going?”

“After this class.”

Irene looked away and took a slow sip of her tea, Johnny’s lip twitched into a half smile at her silent judgmental look. He knew she was just worried; it was harder for Irene than it was for Johnny to push the new additions like he does. He snickered in response, making her look back up at him with narrowed eyes. They both knew what the other was going to say.

“You have too much confidence,” she murmured.

“And you worry too much,” Johnny said. “He’ll be fine. Would you like to join us for the walk just to make sure?”

“No, thank you. I need to study somewhere quiet so I can write my next paper. You can walk me to the library after class, how about that?” she suggested. Johnny just grinned.

“I’d be delighted to accompany you,” he said and pulled his phone out of his pocket, “Is Seulgi busy today?”

“It’s a _Wednesday_ , Johnny,” Irene answered simply, then took another sip of her drink. And Johnny could only nod, remembering faintly Seulgi’s extra packed schedule this semester. From around the corner, another pair of students that Johnny recognized from their class turned up and Johnny took his cellphone out of his pocket.

“Got it. I’ll text Lucas then. He’ll be more than happy to show Mark how to behave anyway,” Johnny mused quietly as he pulled up Lucas’ name in his texts to send him a message.

One of the other students came up to Irene to ask her something about their latest course material and Johnny kept half an ear on the conversation as he sent Lucas a text, while Irene answered the other student’s question happily.

“So I just… put it on now?” Mark asked in a pitiful tone as he stared down at the red collar Johnny was holding out to him.

“It’s easier to wear a collar because you can put it on loose now, and once you shift it will be the perfect size on you. I can put you in a harness, but you’ll have to change first, and then I have to put it on you myself, and _then_ you’d have to wait until I take it off you for you to be able to change back again,” Johnny explained.

“It just… it feels so weird and demeaning,” Mark murmured again as he took the collar from Johnny’s hand, feeling the nylon. There was a knock at Johnny’s front door and he called for the person to come in. Lucas opened the door and stepped out of his shoes and socks quickly, a big grin on his face as usual.

The tall sophomore, tanned skin and dark brown hair, was all teeth and smiles as he shut the front door and started taking off his jacket too.

“This is so exciting!!” Lucas called and laughed a little at the end, his high giggle making Johnny smile too. Lucas came into the living room where Mark and Johnny were, his own collar and leash in his hand, prepared and eager. He bumped Mark in the shoulder with his own as he came close and looked down at the one in Mark's hands, “Nice! That red will look good on you,” he commented, “Going for the walk today will be awesome. It’s sunny but still chilly out, so we won’t get too hot.”

“I know you do this every day, but is it necessary for us to go as… you know…” Mark trailed off.

“The whole point of doing these walks every day is to show others that this is our territory. On the outside, I’m just a guy walking some dogs, but to other people like _us_ , they know what we are by scent. It keeps outsiders away from our territory, which is the entire campus and a little outside the campus too. Luckily, we all walk around unknowingly spreading our scent undetected around the entire inside of the school as we go about our days and attend classes, but walking the perimeter regularly is crucial. Going with everyone at least once a week lets outliers know this is our territory and there’s a _lot_ of us,” Johnny said, “And a person walking dogs is normal. It’s completely not out of place.”

“And also, college kids _love_ dogs,” Lucas said, “No one suspects a thing.”

“Except we’re clearly _not_ dogs?” Mark countered.

“Eh, you’ll be surprised how little people actually know about dog breeds,” Johnny said. “But we have to get going. We all have afternoon classes.” He took a matching red leash to Mark’s collar out of his hoodie pocket.

“I don’t like this,” Mark shared, “Can I just… walk with you two? I hate the idea of being on a leash.”

“Sorry, buddy. You have to look the part. And also, I’ll get ticketed by campus police if I walk a dog off leash. I learned that the expensive way with Jaehyun when we decided to go through campus off-leash once.”

The two leashes looped around Johnny’s wrist felt so natural to him. It was funny to him that he had all sorts of different leashes, collars, harnesses… and he didn’t even own a dog.

The three of them started their round about through the back of the campus, looping around the forest trails, and then dipping back into town, going Johnny’s usual route.

Lucas was a great choice of company alongside Mark. The sophomore was such a flirt, human or otherwise. He would raise and wag his long, swishing tail at everyone who cooed and whistled at him. Mark’s ears would go back while Lucas rushed forward for pets.

Lucas was always so convincing; he acted just like any old dog. Friendly, happy to meet and smell people, he’d even lick some hands to make the part look real. Lucas genuinely enjoyed doing this, it made Johnny feel more confident about blending in. 

Mark was so stiff in comparison, and was clearly reluctant to people reaching out to pet him.

“Mark,” Johnny spoke under his breath as they kept walking. Lucas was in front of him, trotting happily, tongue lolling out of his mouth, and Mark slowed back to walk by his side, his ear angled towards Johnny, “I’m not going to make you lick people, but you really should start acting dog-like. Watch Lucas. Wag your tail a little. You might like having your ears pet, bud,” Johnny said. “If we hide in plain sight, we go undetected. It keeps us safe,” Johnny shared and Mark’s tall ears went back completely in compliance.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. This is weird and new to you. We’ll just have to work on this more, and go on more walks together,” Johnny said. Mark’s head turned around to look at him, his dark ears flying upwards in surprise, and Johnny grinned knowing that would get to the freshman.

A block down the street, the campus to their right, there was a trio of girls sitting down having coffee and the three of them all ‘aww’ed as they approached.

Lucas immediately pulled over to them, sticking his sable colored face right into the closest one's lap, and she nearly cried as she pet his ears and got a pat on the hip from another girl. Johnny stopped and smiled down at Mark, who still stuck to his side.

“Well? Aren’t you going to go say ‘hi’ to the nice ladies?” Johnny asked in a higher pitch than he usually would, his voice going thick and gummy.

Mark hesitated before he went up to one of the other girls and sniffed her outstretched hand tentatively.

“They’re not going to bite. This one is just way more friendly,” Johnny explained to the three girls who looked up at him as an afterthought.

“What kind of dogs are they?” one of them asked.

“They’re husky mixes,” Johnny answered, pulling one of the many excuses from his pocket.

“Oh my gosh, can I take a picture of them?” another asked, picking up her cell phone from the table.

“Actually, they aren’t my dogs. I’m walking them for my neighbor, so… I don’t think I can give you permission to do that. Sorry, ladies,” Johnny answered apologetically, and the three of them nodded in understanding. Mark stayed still while he got stroked and pet, and his tail even started to wag a little bit as one of them scratched at his shoulders and neck.

“Good job, guys!” Johnny cheered happily, “Okay, let’s get going and leave these girls to finish their lunch,” he said and waved goodbye to the girls, who thanked him as they continued on their walk. When they were out of earshot, Johnny looked down at Mark and murmured, “That was good. Keep doing that. It’s good for people to touch you and carry our scent with them. It lets other people like us who might be somewhere in the city know we exist, while the normal humans have no clue they’re carrying your smell around with them.”

They walked back onto campus grounds, making their final loop, and Johnny saw a few students he recognized; they greeted each other and they stopped to chat with Johnny and greet the dogs he was walking. One of them got down on his knees and rubbed Lucas’ face and talked in a really bubbly voice at him, which made Johnny laugh at how odd it would have been if Lucas wasn’t a dog in that moment, but how the sophomore probably still would go with it happily.

As they broke away, Johnny looked forward in the distance and saw quite an interesting student walking towards them.

There were a handful of hybrid students on campus, but most of them were on the heath care, psychology, or biology route. Lee Taeyong was a fine-arts major, and Johnny only knew that because he had taken a couple mandatory art classes to fill some credits that just so happened to have Lee Taeyong in them as well. If Johnny had never taken that drawing class in his first year, he would have never known the boy’s name, only just seen him around campus and admired him.

Lee Taeyong was smaller than him, physically, but his energy, looks, and style were larger than life.

His hair was storm silver, as were his tall, triangular feline ears, and long, fluffy grey tail. 

His clothes were always a statement. In very art student fashion, he donned ripped black skinny jeans, tucked-in shirts with many ostentatious patterns and colors. Sometimes pastel short-shorts, even the occasional crop top that made heads turn and made eyes flicker away. He was also always adorned in jewelry, wearing necklaces, bracelets, and earrings to glam up his looks.

Lee Taeyong stopped about twenty paces from Johnny and his two leashed friends, and put his hands in the pockets of his oversized sweater. For a moment, Johnny thought he’d cross into the gutter or onto the grass to avoid the three of them, thinking about an age old saying about cats and dogs, but Taeyong just stood there, watching him. It made a twinge of curiosity light up in Johnny’s mind. As they got ever closer, Taeyong’s tall ears fell backwards sheepishly.

“Hi,” the hybrid student greeted, “John Suh, right?” he asked in a friendly tone.

“Yep,” Johnny answered, “Lee Taeyong, yeah? We took that watercolor class together, right?”

Taeyong looked startled for a moment, as if he couldn’t quite believe that Johnny knew his name, but he recovered quickly, a smile lighting up his features.

“Yeah! And a drawing class too, I think… if it’s not too much trouble, can I please pet your dogs?” he asked politely, but his shoulders deflated, “I’ve been having a super bad week,” he said. Johnny stopped before him and so did Mark and Lucas.

“Sure, go right ahead,” Johnny answered softly. Taeyong got down on his knees and Lucas came up to sniff him curiously, tail wagging. Johnny’s head tipped to the side, as he watched Taeyong’s ears come forwards and he smiled into Lucas’ face, talking in a baby voice at him. Mark looked back up at Johnny, and then back at Lucas before walking up to Taeyong too. Taeyong sat back on the sidewalk and pet them both, talking to them in a cute voice and smiling.

“Well, aren’t you both pretty pups?” Taeyong said, then looked up at Johnny, his dark round eyes peering up at him, “Are they shepherd mixes? They’re so big,” he commented as he got one hand really into both of their ears and started a deep massage. Mark leaned into his hand hard, his tail falling as he melted into Taeyong’s hand.

“They are!” Johnny chirped, “But they’re not mine. I walk them for my neighbors.”

“Yeah? I see you walking a lot of dogs, actually,” Taeyong said and then looked back up at Johnny with a small smile, “Not to sound creepy or anything,” he added with a charming grin.

“Not at all, the dogs are hard to miss. It’s kind of my side hustle. My neighbors pay me to walk them, and I’m pretty strong so I can handle three or four big dogs at a time. It’s nice to have a little extra money, and walking dogs is an easy and relaxing hobby,” Johnny said and decided that, while Taeyong was unknowingly massaging his friend’s ears, to take a seat on the side of the curb with Taeyong, the dogs in the middle, “Not to pry, but… you said you’ve been having a bad week?” Johnny asked, and Taeyong sighed exasperatingly.

“Yeah… just some home life stuff,” he answered. Johnny didn’t ask anymore; it really wasn’t his business. He had no idea what a hybrid person’s home life would look like. Did Taeyong live with biological family? Did he live at a like… hybrid home with a bunch of other hybrids? Did he have… an owner?

The last thought made Johnny’s stomach turn with disgust.

“I won’t pry,” Johnny said, “But I hope it gets better for you,” he smiled softly.

“Yeah, It might. Or it won’t. Either way, I’ll live,” Taeyong said, and then sighed as he stood back up again, prompting Johnny to stand too. Both Mark and Lucas looked up at Taeyong, and Lucas pulled around to Taeyong’s side to lean around and smell the hybrid’s long silver tail, “Hey, buddy,” Taeyong laughed and raised his tail up, and stepped out from Lucas’ tangling leash, “I’m sure I smell super interesting to you two,” he laughed and then placed his backpack higher on his shoulder, “Thanks, John,” Taeyong said, his smile looking more relaxed.

“Anytime, and, you can call me Johnny,” the taller student said with a friendly smile. Taeyong’s eyebrows flew up.

“Okay, Johnny then,” Taeyong said with a soft air of fondness, “I have to get going now, but thanks again,” the grey haired student said and sidestepped the two dogs, petting Mark’s head once more as he walked by. The second Taeyong’s back was to them, both the giant canines turned their heads to look at Johnny, who quirked an eyebrow at the two of them.

“Let’s go, guys,” Johnny said, and both dogs fell into step with him.

The end of their walk wasn’t eventful, Mark was definitely more used to getting pet by random people. They made it back to Johnny’s townhouse with a good chunk of time to spare before any of their classes. Johnny went into the kitchen for water and he heard Mark and Lucas talking from the spare room.

“See? It’s honestly not bad. Being pet feels nice.”

“Yeah… yeah, I didn’t want to admit it, but when that one guy, the hybrid… he rubbed my ear just right and my brain just shut down for a little bit, it felt so good.”

The next day, Johnny took a morning run with Jaehyun, and then returned home to shower and change clothes for his classes. It was chillier today, and Johnny wore something he could layer so he could take off part of it once he was inside his classes. He had a little bit of a distraction on his mind today, knowing he had a history test today and a study group at the library for a math test in two days.

He still managed to get in a midday walk in, but only around campus with Irene and Seulgi, the three of them sipping hot coffee or tea as they strolled, no dogs today, just conversation. 

Johnny walked Seulgi to her afternoon class, and Irene to the dorms, before he made his way over to the library for his study group. As he walked back through campus, he spotted a familiar figure with a long fluffy tail, and he immediately noticed something was off.

Lee Taeyong was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

As an art student, and as a generally outgoing person, Lee Taeyong was always in some outrageously high-trend outfit. Even when it was getting cold outside, he still looked like a little model with his fitted jeans and billowing shirts, but today he was wearing the same light blue hoodie from yesterday, and the same jeans with rips in the knees.

Johnny saw his shoulders hunched in, and his hands in his jacket pocket, he had his cross body bag on one shoulder, and was looking into the distance as he walked.

Johnny didn’t stop him, didn’t say anything, in fact he would have offered Taeyong a smile if the hybrid student had looked up at him when they passed each other on the sidewalk, but Taeyong looked lost in his own world. They passed each other, and Johnny instinctually drew in a long breath through his nose.

Taeyong smelled… stressed. It was a strained smell, one that permeated off of a good majority of college students so it was easy for Johnny to dissect that scent from Taeyong in passing.

He wanted to ask. He wanted to offer some help if he could, but Johnny had to be somewhere and by the serious look on Taeyong’s face, he must have had to be somewhere as well.

Johnny pushed it out of his mind just as quickly as it entered, and rolled his right shoulder. He had other things to worry about besides a former classmate.

Johnny met up with his little study group at the library, they spent an hour and a half going over current homework and past homework to prep for their test, and then Johnny excused himself as the sun was starting to go down, knowing that it was a Tuesday night and that everyone would be over this evening to have dinner and perhaps drink.

He checked his phone after he left the library and read the multiple messages that people had sent him, checking in for the evening, and letting Johnny know if they were coming for dinner tonight. Kun had messaged saying he ran overtime with homework and didn’t want to go to the store to get things for dinner, so instead he was picking something up on the way to Johnny’s place.

Johnny was fine with that; it was easier to clean up takeout than do all the dishes anyway, especially when the six of them get together, it could end up being quite a full house.

He walked to the lot where he parked his jeep, and could feel a frigid wind blow across the asphalt and in between the parked cars. It felt like frost to Johnny and he smiled to himself as he climbed into his tall, jeep wrangler. The leather seats were cold, and he made a mental note to ask Lucas to help him pull the removable soft top of his car out of the trunk and help him attach it to his jeep once more for the winter months.

He set his cellphone aside as he drove. He didn’t have to drive to school, seeing as it was incredibly close to campus, but on the mornings he did a full run with Jaehyun and had to cut his time short, he’d drive.

On his drive home, he passed the college campus child development center, a small set of dorm-like apartments, and a park that was just down the street from Johnny’s townhouses.

Johnny’s eyes caught a familiar light blue sweatshirt sitting on the park swing. Lee Taeyong again?

Johnny stopped at the red light and gazed out at the figure slumped on the swing. His legs were dangling off, the tips of his shoes unable to touch the ground, and his hood was pulled up over his ears as he stared down at a cell phone in his hand. Johnny could see the long storm grey tail though, hanging back behind him.

It was odd for Johnny to notice Taeyong so much as of recently, since they didn’t share a class this semester, but what was an even odder occurrence to him was the fact that Taeyong was in his neighborhood. He had never seen Taeyong near this park, let alone off campus before.

The light turned green and Johnny looked away from the park and the swing set, his eyes training back to the road. Once again, Lee Taeyong left his mind as he pulled into his parking spot behind his townhouse.

Jaehyun was already at his house when Johnny got there. He had made himself comfy at Johnny’s tiny square dining table and had a slew of books and papers out, doing homework.

“Hey,” Johnny greeted as he came home, shutting the front door after him, but not locking it, knowing others would be rolling in soon enough.

“Hey!” Jaehyun greeted, “I brought whiskey. I’m drinking it with tea,” he announced and Johnny grinned.

“A hot toddy kind of day, huh?” Johnny called as he walked to his room to change his clothes.

When Johnny had returned, in sweatpants and a pullover sweater, he went to the kitchen to make himself a tea with whiskey. The bottle was full, so Jaehyun must have just purchased it. Johnny held the ceramic mug in his hands as he made his way over to the table to sit with Jaehyun. He let the sweet and citrusy aromas of the lemon tea, the honey, and the whiskey flow over him and warm his hands as he waited for it to cool.

“Do we both have math tests coming up?” Johnny asked, peeking at Jaehyun’s work.

“I have a test tomorrow. I’m doing some extra questions, just to make sure I have all the formulas and stuff down. What’s Kun bringing for dinner?”

“Don’t know yet,” Johnny answered.

“How did Mark do on the walk yesterday?”

“Good, actually. Stiff and awkward at first, but then he loosened up. Honestly, Lucas is a good model to watch and learn from.”

“He does make for a good dog when he wants to,” Jaehyun answered, typing in some numbers onto his calculator.

“Irene said I was being too forceful, making Mark take his first day walk so close to the full moon,” Johnny mused.

“She used the word ‘forceful’?”

“No, she questioned whether it was too early for him or not,” Johnny corrected.

“You and her would know better than me,” Jaehyun said with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

“He did fine though,” Johnny answered, “I think he’s just still a little intimidated by us, and by his new life… but being part of a pack really helps people adjust to this new lifestyle. It’s not like this is something he can ignore.”

“Just to be clear…” Jaehyun stated as he turned the page of his text book, still doing homework while he listened, “We’re not intimidating, Johnny. Only you are. And Irene when she wants to be,” Jaehyun said as he wrote down a new problem on his graphing paper.

“What do you mean?” Johnny asked, accusingly, “I’m nice.”

“Yeah, I know you are. But you make it perfectly clear that you’re serious and you lay down your ground rules very quickly for the newcomers, and you’re _very_ hard to say no to. Some people take a little longer to find your soft spots and warm up to you. Kun, the girls…” Jaehyun said, “Go easy on the new kid, is all I’m saying. Not all of them are going to be like Lucas, who idolized the crap out of you from day one.”

Johnny looked down into his cup as he recalled his first few weeks teaching Lucas about them, and about himself, and what the young boy was capable of.

“You already talked to Irene, didn’t you?” Johnny asked, narrowing his eyes playfully up at Jaehyun.

“We’re all in a groupchat that you’re not part of,” Jaehyun stated and Johnny laughed to himself and nodded.

“That makes a lot of sense.”

“And I’m pretty sure they have a groupchat that neither of us are part of, but I’m not going to ask. That’s their business.”

“I agree,” Johnny said and then raised his cup to his lips to take a sip of the warm drink. It felt good on his tongue and going down his throat. It warmed his stomach as it settled.

“Lucas really was the best newbie I’ve ever worked with. He was so eager to learn,” Johnny sighed fondly, changing the subject.

“Eager is the nicest way you could put it,” Jaehyun snorted, and there was a knock at the front door, before they both heard the sound of a key being entered into the slot, “That kid _worshiped_ you for a while,” Jaehyun added on right as Kun and Lucas could be heard entering the house.

“We have Thai food!!” Lucas proclaimed in a happy voice as he bounced into the kitchen with four bags of takeout in his hands.

“Your door was unlocked,” Kun stated as he entered the townhouse, “Lucas got an ‘A’ on his biology exam today, so I let him pick what we’re eating,” Kun informed as he followed Lucas into the house after locking the door after them.

“Nice!” Jaehyun said and Johnny perked up over his tea.

“Hey, good job!” Johnny said and he stood up to give Lucas a congratulatory hug, the younger college student beaming as he hugged Johnny back firmly, “I know you spent a lot of time studying, and it all paid off in the end.”

“Thank you, thank you! I am so ready to eat good food, and relax, and not have class tomorrow,” Lucas said with a big sigh.

“Well, Jaehyun brought whiskey, so, as long as you’re not driving back to your dorm, feel free to enjoy a drink,” Johnny said encouragingly and smiled at Lucas whose eyes got a little bigger at the prospect.

“Kun, do you mind if I...?” Lucas asked his friend politely and Kun nodded.

“Go ahead, you’ve earned it,” Kun said and Lucas pulled a shot glass from the cupboard and prepared himself a shot of the honey liquid from the bottle. The doorbell rang, and Johnny set down his half-drunk mug.

“Jaehyun, would you mind clearing the table for dinner, please?” Johnny asked as he went to get the door. Mark smiled softly when Johnny answered the door, and Johnny gave him a wide grin back.

“Hey! Come in. Hope you like Thai food and whiskey, because that’s what’s on the menu,” he said and Mark stepped inside, leaving his shoes at the door like the rest of them, “How was your day?” Johnny asked.

“Alright,” Mark said, “Since doing the walk yesterday, the scents you mentioned the other day are becoming clearer to me,” he mentioned and Johnny lingered back to listen, “I nearly choked on the smell of my professor’s perfume today. It usually just smells sweet, but today it was _suffocating_.”

“Yeah, when your body fully levels out, you’ll start becoming more, and less, sensitive to those things. In a week, when the moon is full, we’ll go on your first run as a pack and after that things will even out for you significantly,” Johnny said and put a comforting hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions or simply just… report anything odd you’ve noticed about yourself or others. Everyone here has been through the same changes, and while it’s good to test your new skills, keep it between us so you’re not discovered.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that,” Mark murmured as they walked down the hall into the kitchen and dining area. Jaehyun had cleared the table and Kun was setting out the food and plates while Lucas was taking another shot of whiskey, straight. Mark laughed when he saw Lucas.

“Good day?” he asked the other student.

“Excellent day,” Lucas answered, “You want to take a couple with me before we eat?”

“A _couple_?” Mark snickered.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Lucas answered naturally, “Unfortunately, the drawback now is that alcohol won’t hit you as easy anymore. It’ll take a _lot_ more to get you drunk,” Lucas explained, from experience.

“But whiskey?” Mark asked with a scrunch of his nose.

“Straight liquor is better than beer or wine if you’re looking to get wild,” Johnny said, “I’m drinking mine with tea though,” he added, then looked around for his misplaced cup.

“Mark, c’mon do a shot with me! I aced my bio exam, and we’re brothers now,” Lucas danced, holding up two shot glasses now.

“Okay, but if we get too lit, someone will have to drive us back to campus,” Mark mentioned and Kun spoke up.

“I’ll take you back to the dorms, don’t worry,” Kun said, “Loosen up. We’re all family here,” Kun encouraged and Johnny nodded when Mark looked up at him.

Johnny had taken a shot or two with them, trying to heed Jaehyun’s smooth advice of establishing a friendlier baseline with Mark, who also opened up a little more with the drink in his stomach. Irene and Seulgi arrived not too long after, Seulgi holding a cake box with a cute little strawberry cake inside with a puppy in frosting on the top, congratulating Mark for his first pack walk.

The seven college students ate and drank, and somehow the tall handle of whiskey made its way onto the dinner table with them, and then made its way to the recycling bin as it became empty. The cake was split up and devoured, and they laughed and indulged all evening.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Mark mentioned with a fuzzy smile as he slipped on his shoes at the door with Lucas and Kun, “These last few weeks have been totally crazy. You guys have been a huge support. And thanks… for letting me in the club. Tonight was fun,” Mark mentioned and Johnny grinned.

“Yeah, man. You always have a place here. If you want to talk or need a place to crash, just let one of us know,” Johnny said as he pulled Mark into a firm hug. Mark laughed brightly and hugged Johnny back, before Kun opened the front door.

It was dark out now, the winter season making the sun set sooner, and a blast of cold air poured into the front hallway. Johnny had followed the three of them to the foyer to see them out, and a feeling of foreboding flicked on in his brain as the frigid air came into his house.

“Drive safe,” Johnny called to Kun before they said their good nights and Johnny closed the front door.

A feeling of upset stuck with him, and he knew exactly why, but he didn’t let it show as he walked back into the main room of his apartment, finding Jaehyun and Seulgi throwing away trash while Irene straightened up the living room.

“Ya’ll are so good to me,” Johnny cooed and Seulgi cocked an eyebrow over her shoulder.

“Are you tipsy?” she asked in a teasing voice.

“ _Maybe_ ,” Johnny answered with a grin as he went over to the dining table and started pushing the chairs back in, making their job a little easier. In no time at all, the leftovers were put away and the trash was in its proper place.

Jaehyun asked Irene if she could take him back to his dorm room.

“Heading out?” Johnny asked, and looked at Irene again, “You sure you’re good to drive?” he checked, just like an older brother does and Irene smiled up at him.

“Better than you, I bet. I only had two shots, plus dinner,” Irene said, “And I need to go home and relax before I get up early and do homework.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Johnny offered, like he did with the others.

“Are you doing a walk tonight?” Seulgi asked, her cheeks pink from the whiskey, “I could be down for a run right now.”

“Girl, you’re drunk,” Irene admonished, “We’re going home,” Irene mothered and Seulgi giggled, her whole face brightening, knowing Irene was right.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” Jaehyun promised and Johnny chuckled. He watched the three of them leave, heard the door lock after him, and the second he was alone, Johnny’s face dropped. He walked into the tiny kitchen, saw the sink full of dishes, but felt distracted. He stood there in the kitchen, self-checking his sobriety, and debating with himself over what he should do next.

His right shoulder twinged, and he rolled it twice. 

He heard a soft cry from outside and Johnny turned to the cupboard above the refrigerator, where he took the bag of dry cat food he kept on the regular out from its space. Johnny walked back through the kitchen, turning into the living room and headed to the sliding glass door to his back porch. A nice addition about these townhomes was the tiny backyard that they all had. Since Johnny’s was at the end of the row, his yard pushed back against the forest of coniferous trees that surrounded the whole town.

He opened the back door and felt the chill roll in again. He heard one of his neighborhood strays let out a soft mew of greeting as Johnny came into the backyard, but Johnny felt off put as he smelled the cold air outside. It smelled frozen. He stopped in his tracks and pulled out his phone to check the weather.

Low temperatures, cloudy, sixty percent chance of snow.

First snow of the season.

Johnny read the report again as his stomach twisted as a figure with a low hanging tail drifted across his mind. The idea of anyone sitting at the park alone at this time of night, at _this_ time of year, would be asinine. No one in their right mind would do that. Everyone is going home or is already inside right now.

But his gut was telling him to go check.

Just go check the park.

He knew something was off with the usually smiley and carefree Lee Taeyong; even though Johnny didn’t know him all that well, he could tell just by his scent. Johnny also knew himself well enough to know that he wasn’t going to have an easy time falling asleep if he didn’t at least go check to ease his mind. Best case scenario: Johnny would get a little chilly walking around at night looking briefly for someone who most certainly was not going to be there. Then he can come home and take a shower to warm back up.

Johnny went back inside and dropped the bag of cat food on the floor next to the back door, before he went to his bedroom and pulled on a long sleeve and a hoodie, layering up before he put on a pair of thick socks and pulled out some boots and a scarf from his closet to take to the front door with him.

He took nothing but his keys and phone, locking the front door after him, and burying his hands in his pockets. It was pretty cold outside, and Johnny couldn’t explain it, but there was something about the crispness of the air particles that just felt like snow.


	2. Chapter 2

The streetlights outside were the only source of light, and it would have felt pretty eerie, if Johnny didn’t have total confidence of overpowering any mugger should they decide to prey on him. The park was also not very far, a fifteen-minute walk if he was taking his time. Because it was cold, and Johnny’s brain would not settle over the image in his head of the desolate student sitting at the park alone earlier, he was walking briskly.

The park came into view. It was much different in the evening time, the shadows were longer, the play equipment was deserted; the lights from the park lamps were still on, and they cast deep shadows across the play area. Johnny had no idea if their hours changed due to daylight savings, but he knew during Summer the park lights stayed on until around ten at night.

He was thankful for the lamps now, allowing him to see the whole park easily, and the edge of the tall pine trees beyond it, more of the forested areas that seemed quite creepy and daunting at this hour.

There was no one on the swing set, thankfully, and the long chain swings were stagnant and untouched. His eyes glazed over the slide, the sandbox, the big metal and plastic play zone that children loved to climb all over. Johnny closed his lips and started smelling the air as he slowed his pace, checking for scents.

His heart fell when he realized the scent of the hybrid student was definitely still there. It could have been because he had left the park not too long ago, but something told Johnny to look a little longer. He walked around the perimeter of the playground structure, his eyes flashing this way and that, checking the shadows, before he spotted a pair of shoes in a piece of playground equipment, poking out from the shadow of a big, plastic tube was a pair of feet.

There were very rarely home-less people in this town, at least not this close to the college, and Johnny walked nearer to investigate. He felt his heart sink further as he got closer and he realized that Taeyong’s scent wasn’t just recent, it was current.

He slowed his pace as he saw the figure laying down in the tunnel. The shoes and the denim jeans disappeared further into the large plastic tube on the ground as Johnny approached and Taeyong probably heard him and withdrew, to not be seen. Johnny walked patiently to the front of the playground tube, and stopped walking. For a few lingering moments, Johnny heard nothing from inside the plastic cylinder that kids would crawl through when the weather was better, and— unsure of how to break the silence —Jonny knocked on the outside of the tube with his knuckles.

“Hey,” Johnny called softly, when there was no response, Johnny spoke again, “Lee Taeyong… you’re in there, right?” he asked again in a gentle tone.

There was a slight rustle and Johnny saw the tips of Taeyong’s fuzzy, pointed ears appear, and then his silver hair. Johnny saw the light of the street lamps above them flood into Taeyong’s eyes as his pupils turned to slits, something Johnny had never noticed before today.

They had never had a conversation outside of the campus before now, and Johnny saw the recognition, confusion, and mild horror in Taeyong’s eyes.

“J-John Suh?” Taeyong asked, his ears going back.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Johnny answered and tipped his head to the side, “I saw you here earlier when I was on my way home from school… can I ask… what you’re still doing out here?”

Taeyong’s gaze fell from his. It was awkward, Johnny looking down at him like this when Taeyong was still huddled inside the playground equipment on his side

“I-It’s a… long story, b-but…” Taeyong started, “My l-living s-situation… k-kinda f-fell through,” he stuttered out and Johnny knew he must have been cold.

“Is someone coming to pick you up soon?” Johnny asked, and Taeyong didn’t answer, just avoided his gaze again. Johnny got the hint, “Well,” he started matter-of-factly, “It’s going to be cold tonight, and if you sleep outside without proper shelter, you could get pneumonia,” he said, “I know we’re not friends, but do you need a place to stay tonight? I have a spare room you can use.”

“O-oh,” Taeyong said, “That’s-s kind of y-you,” he answered politely, “I’m not sure if I—”

“There’s a sixty percent chance of snowfall tonight,” Johnny said, cutting him off, and pulled out his phone to check his weather app again, “Correction. Seventy percent, now.”

“Oh… _damnit_ ,” Taeyong cursed, and Johnny heard the other’s voice crack. Johnny didn’t know what Taeyong had gone through to lead him to this moment of being out in the cold, seeking shelter in a plastic tunnel on a park playground, but he knew it was good of him to trust his gut and come out and check.

Johnny knelt down, squatting closer to Taeyong’s level and getting the other to look at him again. Johnny looked inside the dark tunnel and saw Taeyong curled on his side, the shoulder bag he had at school with him today laying in the crook of his form, and his arms pulled inside his blue hoodie to keep warm. His jeans and tennis shoes wouldn’t be enough, Taeyong needed to get inside.

“Hey,” Johnny murmured, “I’m not here to judge you or pry, I just want to help. This is not the first time I’ve let someone crash at my house for a while when their world kind of crumbled unexpectedly, and it’s okay to ask for help. My house is less than ten minutes away. You can take a hot shower. I even have leftover Thai food from earlier today,” Johnny said, “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, if your problem is personal. I’m glad I came out here to check, I had a feeling you were still here.”

“A f-feeling?” Taeyong asked quietly.

“Yeah… you could say my gut told me,” Johnny said with a small, comforting chuckle, “Come on, it’s cold out here and it’s going to get a lot colder the longer we stay,” he encouraged and held out his hand.

There was a moment of quiet, before Taeyong pulled his arms back through the sleeves of his sweater and took Johnny’s hand. Johnny’s stomach settled and his mind’s anxiety quieted as he pulled Taeyong out from the plastic tube quickly and helped him to his feet. Immediately, Taeyong wrapped his arms around his shoulders and let out a shivering breath.

Johnny took off his scarf and wrapped around Taeyong’s neck, before taking one of Taeyong’s hands and grasping it with his own. Taeyong’s fingers felt like brittle icicles and Johnny took the initiative to pull Taeyong’s hand into his warm pocket, and lead the way, the two of them shoulder-to-shoulder and hand-in-hand as they walked through the cold night.

“If we go quickly, I bet we could be back at my place in minutes,” Johnny spoke, his neck exposed to the night chill, but it didn’t bother him as much as the feeling of Taeyong’s cold hand clutching his desperately did. Taeyong’s face was half covered in the scarf, and his feline ears were still flat to his head.

“Thank you,” Taeyong said after a minute of quiet, “You d-don’t even really know me, yet you’re opening your home to m-me?”

“Believe me, it’s not the first time, and it probably won’t be the last. I have a… thing with picking up strays,” Johnny said, then looked down at Taeyong, “Sorry, pun unintended. Was that insensitive?”

“Nah…” Taeyong answered with a small, hollow laugh, “As of right n-now, I’m kind of a s-stray. _Fuck_ ,” Taeyong cursed at the end and used his other hand to wipe his face and cover his eyes, “I’m so s-sorry,” his muffled voice said again.

“Don’t apologize. It’s… going to be okay. Whatever happened, it’s over now, and it’ll get better,” Johnny said, trying to sound encouraging, and helpful even though he had no idea what was going on with the other student.

They got back to Johnny’s apartment quickly, Taeyong’s hand was still cold by the time they stepped through the front door and Johnny locked it after them. Johnny pulled both their hands from his coat and he felt Taeyong’s fingers peel away from his with slight reluctance.

“We can leave our shoes here. I’ll show you the spare room and the bathroom,” Johnny said. Taeyong unraveled the scarf and Johnny heard Taeyong try to smell, but his nose was muffled with mucous from the cold, “Come on,” Johnny said and walked deeper into the apartment, to the living room and kitchen area.

The townhouses that Johnny lived in were meant for small families, but with the others coming in and out near daily made the large apartment feel full. There were two bedrooms and a loft area that could be used as a third bedroom-space, but Johnny never found the time or energy to actually do something with the loft, so it was used as extra storage even though he moved here two years ago. He had ideas once to put a couch, a television, and even a large desk up there as a sort of office and hangout spot, but never got around to finding the time.

By the kitchen was the stairs that lead to the loft which overlooked the living room area. The master bedroom, Johnny’s room, was on the right side of the apartment and the smaller, spare room was on the left, making for some privacy because no one was sharing walls.

The spare room in Johnny’s house was used often. Jaehyun, Kun, and Lucas would crash there individually, and even Mark the first few nights after Johnny had discovered him had stayed with Johnny. Irene and Seulgi often shared that queen-sized bed that was there when they were too drunk to drive or stumble home.

Tonight, it would be Taeyong’s room. Johnny passed the open spare room door and opened the door to the bathroom for Taeyong.

“Here’s the bathroom, there’s clean towels in the cupboard behind the door,” Johnny said and then looked down at Taeyong in the light of the kitchen. His light blue sweater was dirty, so were his faded and ripped jeans. His ears were still back with unfamiliarity and awkwardness. Taeyong looked gaunter than Johnny had ever seen him. Every time Johnny had noticed Taeyong on campus, he was always so happy and bright. Today had been so different, and it made Johnny wonder what had happened.

“I’ll go get you something clean to wear. I hope you don’t mind, but it’ll be my clothes,” Johnny said and Taeyong shook his head, his ears still not up all the way.

“Thank you,” Taeyong murmured again, sniffing pitifully, as he took two delicate steps to enter the bathroom, and closed the door after him. Johnny’s eyes fell to Taeyong’s fluffy tail, held low and tilted just slightly between his legs.

The door was quietly shut behind Taeyong and Johnny left the vicinity of the bathroom and made his way to his room to find something for Taeyong to wear, a fresh set of pajamas or something. When Johnny entered his room, he heard the shower water turn on from across the apartment.

Johnny looked through his drawers and found a pair of pajama pants that would fit the small hybrid student, he’d just have tighten the drawstring, but then he realized all of his shirts were going to be huge on the poor student. He shrugged after accepting that fact and pulled out a long sleeve blue shirt that was clean and a pair of tall socks.

Johnny returned to the living room with the fresh set of clothes and knocked on the bathroom door patiently, after a lingering moment it opened a crack and Johnny didn’t look as he slipped the clothes inside.

“Here. Take your time,” Johnny said and he heard another quiet ‘ _thank you_ ’ in response before the bathroom door clicked shut again and the lock turned. Johnny walked away, giving his latest house guest his space.

While Taeyong was in the bathroom, Johnny went into the guest room to check and see if it was clean, or if he needed to change the sheets on the bed, or anything. After he made sure it was fine, he brought Taeyong’s bookbag from the foyer and left it just inside the door of the spare room, before he went to the kitchen to put together a plate for Taeyong with the leftovers from earlier. He dished it up and put it in the microwave but didn’t heat it yet, instead he started the few dishes left behind from earlier.

With the countless other people who had crashed at Johnny’s house over the years, he had gotten into a routine of what to do, how to do it, and how to navigate the conversation. All of his previous houseguests had the same thing in common. This, however, was new territory for Johnny.

After the dishes were done and drying in the rack next to the sink, Johnny went to the front room to organize his shoes, and the one pair that were Taeyong’s as well. He realized he was floundering, looking for things to do while he waited for Taeyong to come out of the bathroom. After some time, the water in the guest bathroom shut off. A few minutes later Taeyong opened the door and came out into the kitchen and living room area.

Johnny’s eyes looked up from the table where he had his homework out but wasn’t sure at all if he was really studying or not.

He was right, the shirt did hang off of the hybrid’s form, exposing almost a full shoulder and part of his collarbone. The pants were long too, pooling over his bare feet. Their eyes caught and Taeyong swallowed, his nasal passages clear and he started taking in all the smells of the small townhouse. Johnny saw the wad of clothes Taeyong held to his chest. His jeans, sweater, and everything else he was wearing. Johnny stood up from the table and cleared his throat.

“The washer and dryer’s back here. I’ll show you how to start it,” Johnny offered. He heard another mumbled ‘thank you’ from Taeyong’s lips as Johnny walked into the kitchen, and his guest followed him.

Johnny heard Taeyong’s nose going, taking it all in, and Johnny wondered briefly how well his sense of smell was.

When Johnny was younger, he was taught to keep his nose quiet. Take in smells in deep, slow breaths, not short ones. ‘No one should be able to hear you sniffing’, his mother’s voice rang in his head. It was something he taught the others to do as well, to keep themselves from being found.

But Taeyong’s nose was audible. It didn’t bother Johnny, but he did feel a slight twinge of envy and amusement at the child-like sounds that Taeyong, being part animal, was making. Johnny showed Taeyong the laundry cabinet which was under the stairs, near the kitchen entrance.

“I’m sorry. You’re going to smell like me when you use my detergent,” Johnny said, trying to sound lighthearted, as he looked down at Taeyong over his shoulder. When their eyes connected, Taeyong’s triangle ears went from being upright to going back.

Johnny was having a bit of a hard time reading his expressions, but in the quiet of his empty house he could hear Taeyong’s heart start to race when Johnny looked at him.

“It’s not a problem,” Taeyong murmured, and Johnny stepped back as Taeyong ducked around him. Johnny watched Taeyong fiddle with the buttons and settings on the washing machine, making sure Taeyong started it right. When Taeyong finished, and pressed start, he turned and looked up at Johnny again.

Johnny could understand why someone would want a hybrid when he looked at Taeyong— big eyes, pink lips, long eyelashes, angular features— his face alone was a delicate mix of charming and sensual. The feline features could be seen as a bonus, depending on what a person was into, but regardless of the silver hair, ears, and tail, Taeyong would still be considered highly attractive even if he was a full human.

There was a quiet moment between the two of them, questions on the tips of both of their tongues when a soft chime was heard from the other room. Johnny heard it and so did Taeyong, one pointed ear swiveling towards the sound.

“That was my phone,” Taeyong murmured and he turned on his heel to leave the kitchen.

“I put your bag in the spare room,” Johnny said after him and he watched Taeyong disappear out of the living room. Johnny stood, watching the open door that Taeyong disappeared through, waiting for him to come out again but the moments turned into minutes.

Johnny wandered into the living room, giving himself a vantage point of the spare room and he saw Taeyong standing by the bed, his ears drooped again.

“Everything okay?” Johnny asked and Taeyong turned around and looked out at him.

“…Yes and no,” Taeyong answered and looked down at his phone one more time.

“Do you… want to talk about it?” Johnny asked, opening up the conversation. Taeyong looked up at Johnny again, and Johnny watched Taeyong’s head nod slowly.

“I do,” Taeyong said and he looked down at his phone once more before he set it on the edge of the bed and came out into the hallway.

“Let’s get you that plate of food first,” Johnny suggested, “Then I’ll listen for as long as you need me to.”

Johnny lead the way back to the kitchen, and Taeyong followed. There wasn’t too long of a period of silence before Taeyong spoke up.

“Can… can I ask you a question?” Taeyong started, his voice unsure.

“Go ahead,” Johnny said as he pressed a button on the microwave and it hummed to life, the food inside started spinning slowly.

“Why did you invite me here?” the smaller male asked, his voice confused, “We’ve had a few classes together, but we’ve never really had a lot of conversations. You don’t have… any reason that I can see for offering your home to me,” Taeyong said, and Johnny held his gaze as he drew in a breath, studying Taeyong’s unique scent for clues as to how the hybrid was feeling.

“I told you. I saw you outside earlier when I was driving home from the school, and then when I checked the weather report and it said it was going to snow. I got worried so I went back and checked. Honestly… I’ve taken in so many people for a night or two, that this isn’t even an odd occurrence for me,” Johnny explained. “I help people when they need it.”

“You’re… so kind,” Taeyong said after a moment and it made Johnny blink, because of the way Taeyong said it. He sounded so hollow and broken.

“Thanks,” Johnny said slowly, “So, my turn: Why were you about to sleep in a plastic tunnel at a park?” he asked. Taeyong’s eyebrows furrowed and he let out a sigh. The microwave pinged and Johnny took the warm plate out and set it on the counter next to Taeyong.

“Thank you. It’s hard to explain the details, but… the person I was living with and I are kind of broken up right now?” he said, but he didn’t sound convinced of it. “It’s a weird situation. He says he’s going to try and sort it out so I can come back, but I’m… not really sure it will be worth it,” Taeyong said. “It’s just hard, being… the kind of person I am. There’s a lot of blurred lines about what I actually own and stuff,” he trailed off for a moment, “And I’d be very content just to be with him, but he has this on-again off-again boyfriend who’s also a normal human like my…” Taeyong trailed off, trying to find the right word.

“…Owner?” Johnny offered, even though it left a bad taste on his tongue when he said it, and Taeyong winced in response.

“No, ugh, please. _Guardian_ , let’s call him my guardian,” Taeyong corrected, “He’s this sweet guy in his late thirties, always wanted a hybrid, but the boyfriend didn’t. They broke up like four years ago, and soon after my guardian adopted me. Things were fine, he was pretty doting, but I had a lot of independence. I think he wanted like… a legitimate pet, or like… a partner who just stayed home and did stuff around the house, and I was never really fond of the idea of just being someone’s house pet, you know? Waiting around just for him to come home, my whole life revolving around him; that’s not what I wanted. I always wanted to go to college and pursue higher education, and he accepted that and helped me apply for school. Well, the root of the problem was that my guardian and his ex reconnected a few months ago, and since then, the boyfriend has been very… aggressive, I should say? He’s _mean_ , and on good days he just cold shoulders me. Since the two of them got back together it’s been very cold in that household. Well, the boyfriend convinced my guardian to kick me out, and that was two days ago.”

“The day before yesterday? Where did you stay last night?” Johnny asked, Taeyong’s eyes went a little wide and his ears fell back at the sudden question of concern from an almost-stranger.

“The school. I stayed in the gym locker room but got kicked out this morning. Campus security told me I had to go somewhere else,” Taeyong admitted, “I’m going to school purely with grant money. It covers tuition, plus a little extra for books and school supplies per semester, but I can’t get student housing in a dorm room on campus. No hybrids allowed.” He shrugged. “I have a couple other friends on campus, but they all live with their significant others, or with roommates, in small apartments. It felt wrong of me to ask to stay with them, and if it wasn’t going to snow tonight…” Taeyong trailed off again. He looked down at the plate of Thai food and pulled it into his hands.

Johnny didn’t like the way any of this sounded at all. There was something about Taeyong feeling like such a burden that he was committed to sleeping outside in the snow than ask for help from others. Johnny was strong, but without the support from Jaehyun, Kun, and the rest of his pack he would feel very alone.

“That’s… so terrible,” Johnny finally said, trying not to look so upset on Taeyong’s behalf. “Do you… have a plan?” Johnny asked and Taeyong’s eyes squeezed shut.

“No. Not really,” Taeyong answered, his hand still holding the edge of the plate that was sitting on the counter, “I mean… I could take fewer classes next semester, and get a part time job somewhere. Find someone who needs a roommate. I can’t sign for a lease on my own because I don’t have credit, because, _haha_ , I’m a hybrid and therefore a partial citizen,” Taeyong stumbled, his voice turning bitter at the end, and he looked up at Johnny once again, his ears drooping, “You full-humans have it easy. Being part animal… there’s too many logistics and loopholes to what I can and can’t do, and what I can and can’t have.”

“I can only imagine,” Johnny answered automatically. Taeyong let out an exasperated sigh.

“I need to go back to his house soon though. I don’t know if they’re going to find a compromise and let me live there again, but until they can come to an agreement, all of my stuff is still there. I need my textbooks, and my laptop, and some clothes that will actually fit me,” Taeyong said, and Johnny’s lips twitched into an amused smile.

“I think the shirt looks good on you though,” Johnny commented, and Taeyong looked slightly taken aback for a second, blinking rapidly before his lips curled into a soft smile, finding his voice again.

“I was mostly talking about these pants. My tail is completely down one pant leg so I can tie the waistband high enough to keep from tripping,” Taeyong let out a little chuckle. There was a moment’s pause as Johnny studied Taeyong’s pretty face again.

“If the boyfriend gets… aggressive again—” Johnny started, quoting Taeyong’s words, “—do you want backup? I have a car. I can drive you to his house and help you grab your stuff if you’re not comfortable going alone. Also, you can get more stuff if you have someone to help you haul it,” Johnny offered. Once again, Taeyong looked taken aback by the offer.

“I mean. That would be really helpful… but I don’t want to overstay my welcome. If you need me to find another place to crash, I can start asking around.”

Something was still unsettling Johnny through all of this.

“I want you to be safe. Going back into an unsafe environment, staying at a random place on campus, and resorting to sleeping at a public park in the middle of late November isn’t safe. You’re also…” Johnny trailed off, not knowing if his next words would go over well or not but he couldn’t stop his mouth from speaking before his tongue could.

“I’m also…?” Taeyong followed up slowly.

“Cute,” Johnny stated, “It’s not always safe for cute people late at night. Weirdos and all that. The spooky woods,” Johnny scraped together.

There was a moment of quiet oddness between them before Taeyong’s ears came forward again and he narrowed his eyes at Johnny, half accusatory, half playful.

“John Suh, are you into hybrids?” Taeyong asked flat out and Johnny shook his head and let out a polite chuckle.

“Um, hadn’t really thought about it much. I don’t think I’d consider myself a cat person,” Johnny said mirthfully, trying to keep it cool, but immediately upon those words leaving his mouth did his back straighten, as he realized he had forgotten to fill the cat bowls outside, “Oh, that reminds me, excuse me for a moment,” Johnny murmured and quickly stepped around Taeyong and into the living room.

The bag of cat kibble was on the floor by the backdoor where he had left it earlier and he picked it up before he went outside once more to complete the job he set out to do an hour ago. As he was filling up the four bowls to the top with kibble for his neighborhood strays, he saw a shadow behind him rise as Taeyong, his scent still new in Johnny’s nose, crept up behind him.

“You feed stray cats?” Taeyong asked and Johnny nodded.

“Yeah. In spring and winter, more of them come around because a lot of them are having kittens. Like I said before, I kind of take care of strays. It makes me feel needed, and it’s something I’ve always done. The cats are pretty low maintenance too. None of them want to come in or be pet. They just appreciate the free food.”

“You’re full of mystery, aren’t you, John?” Taeyong stated more than asked, his tone taking on a softer tone, and Johnny looked over to smile reassuringly at the hybrid.

“Didn’t I tell you the other day to call me Johnny?” Johnny said as he stood up and walked back inside, leaving the bowls as they are, knowing the stays will come when he’s gone.

“Oh yeah, you did, huh?” Taeyong muttered, his face softening, “It’s surprising to me that you feed cats, because, honestly, it smells like dog in here,” Taeyong said and that piece of news zinged through Johnny’s brain like a red warning sign.

“Oh?” Johnny asked, trying not to let his voice sound tight. He turned his back as he shut the sliding door.

“Yeah. Not to sound rude, but my sense of smell is much better than yours, and every time I’ve… gotten a whiff of you, you’ve always smelled like dogs,” Taeyong said, “I just assumed you had a pet, but clearly…” Taeyong didn’t finish, gesturing to the empty townhouse, “I know now that you walk other people’s dogs.”

“Well, sometimes I watch my neighbor’s dogs here,” Johnny lied, pulling a fib from nowhere, “They like to go on vacations, and I’ll watch their dogs when they do.”

“Bet your strays don’t like that much,” Taeyong said offhandedly, and the conversation dropped. Johnny had no response to that, but luckily Taeyong walked away after saying it. Johnny tried not to feel on high alert, and he forced his shoulders to return to an unclenched position as Taeyong went to the kitchen and took the plate of reheated Thai food and put it back in the microwave.

“Thank you for letting me stay here. If it’s alright with you, I’ll eat this and then go to bed. I’m so exhausted,” Taeyong admitted.

“Yeah, go ahead, and you’re welcome,” Johnny said, going to the dining area to pick up his school stuff.

“I’ll let you know what tomorrow looks like, and what my plan is to go get my stuff, and maybe crash somewhere else. I don’t know right now,” Taeyong admitted.

“Honestly, take your time. No rush,” Johnny said again and the timer on the microwave went off. There were a few moments of awkward quiet as Johnny repacked his backpack and Taeyong nearly inhaled the leftovers. Johnny realized that through all of this, Taeyong probably wasn’t hungry at all, but that it was polite of him to eat what was put in front of him. Johnny heard the sink run as Taeyong rinsed off his plate.

“Thanks. Really. You’re saving my tail,” Taeyong said with a soft, drained smile as he exited the kitchen on his way to the guest bedroom, “Good night,” he said.

“Good night,” Johnny answered back and a moment later the door to the guest bedroom closed.

Johnny felt his shoulders tighten again as he quietly sniffed the surroundings of his own home. He didn’t realize that, of _course_ it must have smelled like canines, but the smell was so homey and comforting to Johnny that he never noticed it, it was just the smell of home.

Taeyong’s scent was lingering there too, fresh and new, and Johnny wondered for a second what he was getting himself into by letting Taeyong stay. It may have been too close for comfort, but Johnny already knew what Jaehyun would say:

‘You’re a bleeding-heart Johnny. You are going to take in as many strays as you can. It’s just your nature.’

Johnny went to his own bedroom not too long after, shutting the door and crawling onto the raised bed silently. He laid on his back for a while, eyes closed, thinking about what he was going to say to Jaehyun and the rest of his pack when they inevitably found out about their new house guest.

It took him a while to sort through his thoughts, but eventually he found sleep knowing that his pack would be fine, and so would Taeyong, sleeping on the other side of the townhouse comfortably instead of in a plastic tunnel at the park.

The next morning, Johnny woke up to the sound of the kitchen sink running and for a split second had to remember who was in his apartment, before he recalled last night in detail.

He got out of bed quickly and put on his own pajama pants and grabbed a shirt that he started pulling on over his head as he exited his room. Lee Taeyong had his back to Johnny and the owner of the apartment had to force a little smile down as he saw the cute, stormy ears sticking up out of the mess of bed head. Taeyong was standing at the sink washing the dishes from last night, and his one ear swiveled back to hear Johnny approaching.

Johnny didn’t know much about hybrids, but the idea that the satellite ears on the tops of their heads worked just like normal feline ears was interesting. He wondered how their range of hearing compared.

Taeyong turned around to look over his shoulder and his ears went back a little rather sheepishly.

“Good morning,” Taeyong murmured in a soft voice, “I hope I didn’t wake you?” he asked.

“No, don’t even worry about that. I tend to be up early anyway,” Johnny said, “You really don’t need to do those dishes, you know,” Johnny said as he came into the kitchen and noticed the rubber gloves Johnny kept under the sink on Taeyong’s hands.

“I clean things when I’m nervous or stressed… and doing these dishes is the least I could do for you for letting me crash here last night,” he said and Johnny smiles a little and shrugged.

“Believe me it’s no big deal, there’s a reason I have a spare room,” Johnny said, “Did you still plan on going back to your… ex’s house today?” Johnny said, wording it gently. Taeyong’s ears fell just slightly but he nodded.

“I’ve been texting him. I told him I need to come over and get some clothes and my school supplies, and he agreed. I just don’t know if his boyfriend is going to be there or not and that stresses me out,” Taeyong admitted with a soft groan.

“Do you want me to take you?” Johnny offered again and Taeyong didn’t look up at him, “I’m serious. With a car you can get more stuff and also if the boyfriend gets aggressive, I can literally just stand behind you. Look at me. I’m pretty scary looking if you don’t know me personally,” Johnny said, “I get out of class at one today, we can leave after we both get back. Do you have classes today?”

“No, I have today free…” Taeyong murmured. There were a couple of seconds of silence and Johnny watched Taeyong gnaw at his lip, mulling it over, before he put the last dish in the drying rack and pulled off the rubber gloves, “Having a ride to and from, as well as backup would be very helpful…” Taeyong muttered under his breath, “Okay, yeah. Thank you for offering… do you want me to hang out on campus for you, so I’m not alone in your house?”

“Whatever works for you, honestly. You can stay here all morning if you want?” Johnny offered again. Taeyong’s eyebrows softened and he smiled at Johnny.

“You’re unbelievably kind. Seeing you walk all over campus with those big dogs… kinda makes you look like a badass, but you’re super giving.”

“Well, I’m an animal person,” Johnny said, a subtle joke he made regularly, but the second it left his mouth he realized that his audience might take it the wrong way and Johnny immediately put up his hands in defense, “I mean… _full_ animals… not—”

“I get it,” Taeyong laughed, cutting him off, “ _Full animals_ ,” he quoted with a snicker as he turned back to the sink, “I’m going to pay you back for helping me so much. I have no idea how to thank you properly, but I’ll think of something,” Taeyong said. Johnny smiled kindly.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Let’s just… get you what you need from your place. You honestly don’t need to do anything for me,” Johnny said, and Taeyong turned off the sink and started pulling off the rubber gloves.

“No, I’m gonna do something nice for you. You’ve been so kind to me, I’m going to pay you back,” Taeyong said firmly. And Johnny ticked his head to the side and laughed under his breath.

“Okay, if you insist,” Johnny conceded, “I’m going to get ready for class soon—” he could barely finish his sentence when the sound of a key being inserted into his front door was heard, and Johnny’s heartrate jumped for a second. He knew it was either Kun, Irene, or Jaehyun, the only others who had a key to his front door. As the door opened, two voices could be heard from the foyer and Johnny felt a strange wave of anxiety as he heard both Jaehyun and Kun’s voices.

“Mark’s not in the groupchat, so I didn’t know,” Kun asked, “Was he weird?”

“Yeah, I mean, I assume he was super weird, but Johnny said he did fine. Johnny!” Jaehyun called and Johnny looked over to Taeyong who immediately started brushing back his hair with his fingers, taming his bedhead.

“What’s up?” Johnny asked and moved to greet Kun and Jaehyun in the foyer before they could walk into the line of sight of the kitchen.

“We’re here for a walk. Tell Kun how Mark did yesterday,” Jaehyun asked.

“Uh…” Johnny murmured, going over his responses in his head and their conversation to make sure nothing seemed out of the ordinary, “He did good by the end of the walk. You know, he needs more socialization, so it was good for him to go out with someone new for a change, but he just needs more time.”

Jaehyun and Kun both gave Johnny odd looks, and Kun mouthed the word ‘ _socialization_ ’ as if he was mulling it over on his tongue. Even for Johnny, it was an odd choice of words, but he wanted this conversation to seem as normal as possible. Johnny watched Kun’s chest rise as he inhaled through his nose, and then his eyebrows flew up.

“Do you have someone over?” the Chinese student asked, and Jaehyun’s eyes looked back to Johnny, interested.

“…Yeah,” Johnny answered a little stiffly, knowing that hiding Taeyong from someone like Kun was _impossible_.

“ _Another_ stray?” Kun asked again, but with disbelief.

“…Maybe one from the woods?” Jaehyun asked curiously and peeked around the corner. Johnny felt his whole body stiffen as he felt Taeyong come around the corner behind him and into view.

“Hello,” Taeyong answered politely in a soft voice, and Johnny watched both of his friends’ eyes flick to Taeyong. Jaehyun remained composed, but Johnny watched Kun’s incredulous expression as he looked back at Johnny, surprised at Johnny’s current houseguest.

“Good morning,” Jaehyun said, turning his attention smoothly onto Taeyong, “I don’t believe we’ve met, I’m Jung Jaehyun,” Johnny’s best friend introduced, “I’m Johnny’s friend, and I help him walk dogs occasionally.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen you with some big dogs before around campus,” Taeyong said and then turned his attention to Kun, “Hi, I’m Lee Taeyong. Johnny and I have taken a handful of classes together.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. It was clear to Johnny that Jaehyun and Kun both realized Taeyong had spent the night last night, and Johnny spoke up.

“Who are we walking today? I assume… because both of you are here, we have a big pack to walk?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah,” Kun answered easily, picking up Johnny’s flow, “We also stopped to see if you were okay? We know you have class soon, but I heard from one of the owners that you didn’t take their dogs for a walk last night?” Kun scraped up, his lie immaculate.

Johnny could only feel a small bout of guilt. He knew he didn’t patrol last night because he picked up Taeyong. He hasn’t missed a walk once in the last two semesters, and of course the rest of his pack would notice and question it.

“Yeah, I’m good. I told him I had to cancel. Are we going to pick them up this morning instead?” Johnny continued, knowing that Taeyong was still behind him, still continuing on as if the three of them were running a dog walking side-gig.

“Yeah, that’s the new plan,” Jaehyun said, “If you’re not feeling well, we can walk without you,” he asked, implying something.

“No, no. I’ll go with. His dogs are going to be wild since they didn’t walk last night,” Johnny said and he turned to Taeyong for a second. They hybrid’s eyes flicked up to meet his and Johnny was mentally overturned by how innocent he looked. He forced that thought down and looked back at his friends, “Gimme five minutes. I’ll get dressed and get my backpack and we can go,” Johnny said and Kun nodded, his lips tight.

“Cool. Have a good day, Taeyong!” Jaehyun said happily as the two of them stepped out the door and Jaehyun pulled the door shut with him. When the door was closed and Taeyong and him were alone again, Johnny let out a soft exhale of relief through his nose.

“It’s cool that you walk dogs with your friends. What a fun little part-time job,” Taeyong mentioned, and Johnny felt his shoulders ache as he untensed them, “I don’t think I’d be very good at it though. Dogs tend to be too interested in me, like they are confused as to why I’m human but with cat smells,” he rambled and Johnny laughed.

“With big dogs like the ones we walk, it can be a little intense,” Johnny said as he walked past Taeyong to go to his room to change out of his pajamas, “Are you going to stay here, or are you going to go somewhere before we go pick up your stuff?” Johnny called, making a game plan for his day.

“I… I can go if you want?” Taeyong asked outside the slightly open bedroom door and Johnny stopped as he pulled off his shirt.

“That’s not what I meant. You can totally stay here until I get back from class, I don’t mind,” Johnny said, “If you stay, I don’t have to give you a key, if you leave you’ll need a key in case you get back before me.”

“No, I’ll… I’ll stay if that’s really okay with you,” Taeyong murmured.

“Then please, make yourself at home,” Johnny sad as he finished layering up for the cold morning, and then picked up his backpack from the foot of his bed. He opened his bedroom door and saw Taeyong standing not too far from it, still in the giant sleep shirt and pajama pants from last night. His triangular ears were pulled down again.

“Are you sure? You’re okay with just… leaving a stranger in our house?” Taeyong asked and Johnny couldn’t help but an amused smile pull on the corners of his lips.

“We’re not completely strangers,” Johnny said, “And besides… I hardly think you’re going to throw a huge party here or steal my things. You only have like five hours here alone. Just try and relax, do some homework, try and do something to take your mind off of the other stuff going on,” Johnny offered.

“…Is it okay if I clean?” Taeyong asked after a moment, “That can be like the first part of me paying you back. I can clean up and cleaning really helps me like… unfocus my brain, if that makes sense.”

“Knock yourself out. If you want to clean up my house, feel totally free. You’d be doing me a favor,” Johnny encouraged and Taeyong’s ears flicked up, his whole face brightening. Johnny’s lips twitched into a smile.

“Really?” he asked and Johnny smiled as he brushed past Taeyong.

“Yeah, all the cleaning supplies are under the sink and in the cupboard in the kitchen,” Johnny said as he walked to his front door, pulling out his keys and choosing a pair of boots for the day.

“Okay, have a good day,” Taeyong said and Johnny smiled back at the hybrid student.

“You as well. See you this afternoon,” Johnny said and opened his front door, feeling the chilly autumn air flow over him before he stepped outside and shut the door after him. He locked his door, turned around and saw Jaehyun and Kun at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him expectantly.

“Well?” Jaehyun asked, a silly smile on his face.

“Well what?” Johnny asked.

“You’re not going to talk about your new stray friend?” Jaehyun teased. Johnny took in a little breath and exhaled, knowing damn well that telling lies would only complicate things.

“He was kicked out of his house a few days ago, we stopped and talked about it when I was walking with Mark and Lucas yesterday. Hybrid students can’t stay in the dorms on campus, and he got escorted out of the gymnasium because he spent the night before last in the locker rooms. I spotted him last night attempting to sleep at the park just down the street when I started my walk… and it snowed last night,” Johnny told them as he looked around at the soft, but thin blanket of snow on the trees and sidewalks, “I know he’s not like us, but I’m not about to let a classmate freeze to death overnight in late November. I cut my walk short to take him back home and he’s going to be staying for a few days until he can figure some stuff out,” Johnny shared, “So… I have a new houseguest.”

Kun and Jaehyun were quiet for a second, the only sounds were their footsteps crunching through the snow.

“Soft spot,” Kun muttered.

“ _Totally_ ,” Jaehyun quipped and he snickered and elbowed Johnny in the side, “Our helpful leader,” he cooed.

When Johnny got back to his place that afternoon, his house smelled like citrus and mint. Johnny walked into the living room and found his entire living space cleaned. His carpet had even, lovely vacuum lines across the floor. The pillows on the couch were arrayed neatly, his coffee table and other surfaces were clear of empty cups. His picture frames seemed shinier as well.

He spotted Taeyong when the cat-eared boy stood up from beneath the counters, his hair a mild disarray and the pair of rubber dishwashing gloves pulled up to his elbows. Taeyong smiled at him from across the room and Johnny walked over and peered into the near gleaming kitchen. He hadn’t seen it this tidy and well-kept since he moved in.

“Whoa,” Johnny said, eyes wide and impressed, “You went to town. This place looks amazing.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Taeyong wheezed a little, “I feel like I had a good and productive day. I want to get to that bathroom next, but maybe later,” he said and slowly peeled the gloves off, “Thanks for letting me clean.”

“Are you kidding me? Thank _you_ ,” Johnny stressed, “I’ve… never seen this place look so clean,” he admitted, “Jeez, I need to clean my house more,” he said as he looked at the wooden cabinets. Had they always been that glossy?

Taeyong laughed good-naturedly and he wiped his brow with the back of his wrist.

“Are you ready to go now? I just need to get dressed,” Taeyong asked. Johnny snapped back to reality.

“Yeah, let’s go now,” Johnny said, “While there’s still light out.”

The car ride was beautiful. The first snow had blanketed the town, the trees, and every rooftop; it looked like a Christmas paradise. Luckily the streets had been plowed early in the morning so driving wasn’t a problem. It was cold, and Johnny had the heater running at full blast, but the soft top on his jeep only did so much during the winter time. Taeyong stared out the passenger window, his grey ears flat to his head.

Johnny could smell the stress and nerves coming off of him. It was trapped inside the car with the two of them. The drive to the ex-guardian’s house was outside of Johnny’s domain, he had never gone to this part of the town before, but it looked nice. Big houses in new neighborhoods.

“Am I going the right way?” Johnny asked, breaking the silence beyond the rumble of the jeep.

“Yeah,” Taeyong answered tightly, “It’s actually the next left.”

“Okay,” Johnny answered and put on his blinker, “Do you want to make a hand signal, in case things get hairy and you’d like backup?” Johnny asked.

“No,” Taeyong let out a reluctant sigh, “I think it should be okay. As long as the boyfriend isn’t there, I should be free to get some stuff and leave quickly,” Taeyong said and pulled the hood of his sweater up over his head, “This sucks,” Taeyong murmured, “I wish… this hadn’t have happened,” the hybrid admitted.

Johnny didn’t have anything to say to comfort him, he couldn’t understand the full situation.

Johnny pulled onto the street and was greeted by a well-off neighborhood. Two-story homes, tall trees, manicured hedges, gated front lawns, all dusted with pristine white snow.

“It’s the one up here with the fountain out front that’s drained,” Taeyong said quietly and Johnny veered softly into the gutter to park outside the front gate. The second the jeep was put into park, Taeyong sank into his seat and groaned, but unbuckled his seatbelt. Johnny killed the engine, ending the rumbling white noise of the jeep, but left the keys in the ignition.

“It’ll be alright,” Johnny said, “We’ll make this super quick and then we can go back to my place and order a pizza or whatever to make you feel better.”

“Yeah, okay,” Taeyong said with a nod, “This will be over quickly,” the student said to himself before he opened the car door and slid out onto the sidewalk. Taeyong shut the door after him and Johnny leaned over the center console to watch Taeyong walk up to the house, his tail raised halfway.

Taeyong opened the front gate, and walked up the path to the front door. Johnny watched him ring the doorbell and then take down his hood, his ears standing straight up, angled forward to listen. After a few long moments, the door to the house opened.

Johnny’s eyes were fixed on Taeyong as a tall male appeared in the doorway and Taeyong’s ears immediately fell back. Johnny couldn’t hear them, but he saw the man put his hand on the door, barring Taeyong’s entrance and saw a mean glare on his face.

Johnny figured that must have been the new boyfriend, and he pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the jeep. As soon as Johnny was on the outside of the fence, he could hear their conversation get louder.

“—I told you not to come back. This is my home now. He’s my boyfriend. A relationship isn’t two people, and some fucktoy hybrid,” the man spat and Johnny felt the bite in those words and could only imagine how Taeyong felt hearing them spat at him.

Johnny kept his lips closed and his nose clear as he walked through the gate Taeyong had also passed through and up the walkway to the front door. Taeyong’s back remained turned to him, but the man’s eyes flicked up to see Johnny and meet his eye.

“Oh, you already found a replacement _owner_ , hm? That’s so—” the moment Johnny got within five feet of Taeyong, he smelt it.

It poured out from the open door of the house and clung to the man’s shoulders like sweat.

Dog.

Johnny said nothing. He evened out his gaze and felt a wave of satisfaction as the man in the doorway stopped talking completely the moment Johnny stepped up onto the porch behind Taeyong.

Taeyong’s head flicked back for a half second to see Johnny backing him up before he turned back to the man baring his entry to the house.

“I just need my clothes and school supplies. Then I’ll leave.”

The man at the door looked from Johnny, to Taeyong, then back to Johnny.

“Everything in this house is mine,” he said, but Johnny could hear the waver in his voice, a crack in the conviction.

“What use do you have for pants with tail holes in them? What are you going to do with art textbooks?” Taeyong countered, “Let me get my stuff. Then I’ll get out of your hair,” Taeyong said, his voice soft and non-threatening as he tried to smooth the situation over.

“Taeyong?” called a voice from further inside the house. The three of them stopped as a fourth person came to the door and opened it wider. The new person wasn’t like Johnny or the boyfriend, and Johnny realized in an instant that this must have been Taeyong’s guardian, “I just looked at my phone. Sorry I didn’t text you back. Please, come in. You want to get some clothes and things, right?” he asked, his voice soft and placating.

Taeyong’s ears, once down and back, raised up as he walked inside, past the visibly simmering boyfriend.

“Yes, and my textbooks,” Taeyong answered as the two of them walked into the house, leaving Johnny at the door with the steaming boyfriend, who looked beyond annoyed that he didn’t get his way.

The boyfriend looked back at Johnny again and the college student watched the man’s throat bob with a small swallow. Johnny still had yet to say a word, but he could see the man start to sweat under his gaze. It gave Johnny a small high of satisfaction.

Johnny could tell the man was new at this. He could smell how uneven his scent tones were, and how unbalanced his control was. Johnny could tell by the smell of him that he was alone on his journey. There was only his smell on him. A dog without a proper pack.

Johnny on the other hand, not only was different from the youngling in front of him, but also had the backing of multiple others on his scent. Anywhere Johnny went, his invisible battalion came with him, while this man was all alone in a field, less like a predator and more like a doe that happened to become astray from familiarity, and thus safety.

It was usually a little disheartening to Johnny whenever he encountered someone out in the world who was like him and unlike him all the same. It was part of the reason for Johnny’s patchwork family today, but _this_ man would never be a part of Johnny’s pack. Not with the way he treats Lee Taeyong.

“Don’t come near him again,” Johnny said after a long minute of holding gazes. His voice made the man in the doorway flinch, “Don’t text him, don’t bother him, and _don’t_ enter my territory. Stay away from the campus and downtown, I won’t have you playing hunter in _my_ jungle,” Johnny said in a low voice.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he scoffed, blinking like he had been offended, but Johnny’s lip twitched into a satisfied smile when the man’s smell betrayed his words.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Johnny said, “Stay in your lane. I can tell you right now that I outnumber you.”

“G-get off this property,” the man shivered and Johnny took a half step back, leaning casually, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

“Gladly. As soon as Taeyong walks through that door with everything he needs, we’ll go.”

It was nearly perfect timing. Right as the man was about to open his mouth to throw out another pitiful retort or reply, Taeyong appeared in the open doorway again from down a hallway. His ears were drooped once more, and his eyes were downcast. In one arm he had a large plastic bag with corners of canvases sticking out, and in the other hand was a stuffed duffle.

“Let me take one of those for you,” Johnny offered in a soft voice and Taeyong looked up at him briefly, eyes red from what looked like crying, and handed over the duffle easily.

“Thank you,” Taeyong said and looked back into the house, where the guardian had now come to stand by the boyfriend.

“Take care, Taeyong,” the older man said and Taeyong nodded quietly.

“You too,” he answered and Johnny stayed on the step as Taeyong walked past him into the cold again. Johnny maintained eye contact with the rude boyfriend, silently warning him once more, before he turned and flanked Taeyong, walking the hybrid back to his jeep.

They placed Taeyong’s things in the backseat before they climbed in themselves and Johnny started the engine once again. Once they pulled out of the street and back onto a main road Taeyong sighed heavily.

“Well, that sucked,” he admitted.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Johnny asked quietly.

“There’s not much to talk about, honestly. He’s still trying to smooth things over with the boyfriend so I can ‘come home’ but the boyfriend is still just a nasty _fuck_ ,” Taeyong cursed, his silver ears flying back again.

There was a moment of silence before Johnny threw all rational to the frozen wind.

“Yeah… the boyfriend is a werewolf,” Johnny admitted. Taeyong scoffed with a bitter but amused laugh.

“Yeah, he is, isn’t he?” Taeyong asked rhetorically.

“No. I’m serious. The reason that asshole doesn’t like you is because he’s a werewolf, and he’s trying to set a territory over your guardian. It’s likely that the guardian doesn’t know his boyfriend is a werewolf, but it’s not going to work out well for either of them in the end, because normal humans don’t usually handle it well when someone in their life pushes the rest of the people out of their lives and turns into a wolf every full moon,” Johnny said and Taeyong fell silent. Johnny glanced over and saw Taeyong’s taken aback face, clearly trying to process what Johnny just said. At the next red light, Johnny turned in to face Taeyong to really gauge his reaction. Taeyong stared at him for a few long moments, like the cogs in his head were turning in every direction to put the puzzle together and figure out what Johnny meant and as soon as Taeyong got it, his whole face changed into one of unreal shock.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey.  
> My twitter is @dogdadjohnny come find and follow :)


End file.
